Retention and drainage aid

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to cross-linked, cationic polymers having a mixture of secondary and/or tertiary alkylene amine groups and alkylene quaternary ammonium groups pendant from a substantially completely saturated hydrocarbon polymer chain and to the use of said polymers as retention and drainage aids in paper making processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In modern papermaking, an ever-increasing emphasis is being placed onmore complete recovery of furnish materials, such as pigments, fibersand additives, as a part of the ultimate sheet. Some of the manybenefits the papermaker realizes by increasing the retention, especiallyof the fine particulate matter associated with respect to thesecomponents, are:

(a) better economic utilization of the furnish materials. Obviouseconomic advantages are achieved by increasing the retention of thefurnish materials on the wire of the paper-making machine to providemore paper product and less waste;

(b) improved quality of the resultant sheet product. The retention ofsupplied furnish material yields a more uniform grade of product andfewer rejects on the production end product;

(c) less down-time due to a cleaner system. The retention of most of thefiber, fines, fillers and additives on the web does not allow thesematerials to accumulate in the recirculating white water of theproduction system. In systems where the white water is at leastpartially recirculated, this provides less build-up or concentration offines in the the head box. It also provides less solids in the effluentstream and thereby minimizes the need for extensive treatment of thestream before release;

(d) increased production. By providing a means to retain the solids onthe web and provide an increased drainage rate, a paper making machinecan be frequently increased in rate and thereby increase production; and

(e) more versatile paper production. The ability to retain more solidson the web can often reduce two-sidedness of the paper product andprovides a means of incorporating materials otherwise impossible to use.

A large variety of materials have been used as retention aids. The mostwidespread of these, and among the oldest in use, are the salts ofaluminum, in particular aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminate and sodiumphosphoaluminate. These materials, however, have the defects of beingrequired to be used in large amounts and not be a highly efficientretention aid.

Various polymeric materials, from naturally occurring gums to syntheticresins have also been used as retention agents. These include naturaland chemically modified starches. The starches are normally retained inthe sheet product. Synthetic, water-soluble polyelectrolytes which arecationic or anionic have also been used. Anionic polyelectrolytes aregenerally of the polyacrylamide type which has been partially hydrolyzedto thereby contain from 5 to 30 mole percent carboxyl groups.

The cationic polymers found useful are ones which generally containcationic nitrogen-containing groups which may be in the form of freeamino groups or of quaternary ammonium salts. These polymers aregenerally found useful for paper making processes using alkalineconditions. Typical polymers used for this purpose include polyvinylimidazolines, polyaminoalkyl acrylates, polyethyleneimines,polyamideamines, copolymer of acrylamide and methacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium salts and co- and terpolymers of dialkyl diallylammonium halides. These and similar polymers are discussed inStructure/Performance Relationship of Cationic, Anionic and AmphotericRetention Aids by Joseph Watts, Jr. et al, TAPPI 25th Paper Conference,pg., 53-67 (1970) as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos 2,585,583; 3,544,532;3,679,748; 3,772,076. These polymers are deficient because of their lowcharge density and/or low molecular weight.

It is desired to obtain a polymeric material which has a high chargedensity, has a molecular structure capable of providing a high degree ofattraction between polymer and particulate materials commonly containedin paper furnish and has a molecular weight range capable of aiding inthe retention of particulate material on the web.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention is directed to a new cross-linked cationic polymerhaving secondary and/or tertiary amino groups and alkylene(predominantly methylene) quaternary ammonium groups pendant from thehydrocarbon polymer chain. The cross-linked polymer unexpectedlyprovides excellent retention and drainage capabilities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The polymeric material of the present invention has a unique structureof having a substantially saturated hydrocarbon polymer backbone chain,having pendant secondary and/or tertiary and quaternary alkylene aminogroups; being sufficiently cross-linked through quaternary ammoniumgroups to form a high molecular weight, water soluble polymer. Theresultant polymer has an extremely high charge density which providesvery strong polymer-particle surface interaction. This plus the polymermass configuration provides excellent retention characteristics for usein paper making and the like.

The useful product of the present invention can be formed by firstaminomethylating an olefinic containing polymer under conditions tocause high amine incorporation. The resultant polymeric polyamine isthen modified by chain extension and/or cross-linking and byquaternization to produce a resultant product having the desired chargedensity and molecular weight distribution.

The initial polymer is preferably formed by aminomethylation of apolymeric material having a multiplicity of olefinic groups(non-aromatic unsaturation) within the polymer structure. The olefiniccontaining polymers useful herein can be formed from monomers havingmultiple olefinic groups therein alone (homopolymers), or in combinationwith other monomers, by conventional cationic, anionic, free radical,coordination or supported metal catalytic processes, as are well knownby the artisan. The term "olefinic containing polymer" or "olefinicprepolymer", as used herein, is meant to define homopolymers andcopolymers which contain a multiplicity of olefinic bonds distributedthroughout the polymer chain etiher as a part of the polymer backbone oras a part of the pendant group. The olefinic containing polymer shouldhave a molecular weight of at least 500 and preferably from about 1000to 1,000,000. It is most preferable to utilize an olefinic polymer ofmolecular weight of from 1,000 to 200,000.

The olefinic containing polymers useful herein can be homopolymersformed from C₄ to C₁₀ monomers having multiple olefinic groups therein,such as, for example, from butadiene; isoprene, pentene,cyclopentadiene; dimers of cyclopentadiene; 1,3-pentadiene;1,4-pentadiene; 1,3-hexadiene; 1,4-hexadiene; 1,5-hexadiene;2,4-hexadiene; 1,3,5-hexatriene and the like, as well as such monomerscontaining substituents thereon which are inert with respect toaminomethylation, such as C₁ -C₃ alkyl, halo and carbonyl radicals.Further, the polymers useful herein may be copolymers formed from atleast one monomer compound which is capable of forming polymericsegments containing olefin bonds therein, such as copolymers formed frommore than one monomer capable of imparting olefinic groups to thepolymer such as, for example, copolymers of poly(butadiene-isoprene),poly(butadiene-1,4-pentadiene) and the like as well as copolymers havingone copolymerizable monomer not forming olefinic groups to the polymersegments, such as acrylamides, acrylonitrile, styrene, actylates, alkylvinyl ethers, alkyl vinyl ketone and the like, and mixtures thereof, andC₁ -C₂₀ hydrocarbyl derivates of such monomers, such as alpha-methylstyrene, methyl methacrylate and the like. Such materials are formed inconventional manners by free radical, cationic or anionic polymerizationtechniques, as are well known. A large variety of these polymers can bereadily obtained commercially, such as polybutadiene, hydroxy terminatedpolybutadiene poly(butadiene-acrylonitrile), poly(butadiene-styrene),and the like. The olefinic containing polymers used to form the initialpolymeric polyamine should contain at least about 10 percent by weightof olefinic group segments (C═C) therein to provide sufficient reactivesites for forming alkylene amine pendant groups.

The olefinic containing polymer is reacted with carbon monoxide,hydrogen and/or water (preferably hydrogen alone) and a primary orsecondary amine in the presence of catalytic amount of a Group VIII (ofthe Periodic Chart) metal compound such as inorganic salts, carbonylsand the like or organometallic compounds such as carboxylic acid salts,chelates such as of norbornadiene and the like. The metal is preferablyselected from the Group VIII metals of rhodium, ruthenium, iridium ormixtures thereof. The most preferred catalysts are compounds havingrhodium alone or with ruthenium.

Aminomethylation of the polymer requires the utilization of CO and H₂.These gases can be in a molar ratio of from 1:10 to 10:1 with from 2:1to 1:2 being normally preferred. Other inert gases such as argon,nitrogen and the like can be present and used to form a part of thetotal reaction pressure as described below.

The amine can be a primary or secondary amine represented by the formula##STR1## wherein R represents a hydrogen, C₁ -C₆ alkyl, cycloalkyl oraryl group and R' represents a C₁ -C₆ alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aryl group.Any of the groups may be substituted with a group which is nonreactiveto aminomethylation such as ethers or alcohols. It must be recognizedthat the groups should be sufficiently small to provide little or nosteric hinderence in the further reactions that the nitrogen atomsubsequently undergoes as described hereinbelow. Therefore, it ispreferred that each R' and R each independently represent a C₁ -C₃ alkylgroup.

The aminomethylation is carried out in the presence of a Group VIIImetal compound. The metal is preferably rhodium or a mixture of rhodiumwith a second Group VIII metal especially with ruthenium or withiridium. The mixture can be of a ratio of from about 1000:1 to 1:1000with 100:1 to 1:100 being preferred.

Hydrogen is the preferred hydrogen source in the aminomethylation ofhydrocarbon polymers to achieve high degrees of alkylene amino pendantgroups on the polymer chain. Small amounts of water may be present butit is preferred that the reaction be carried out under substantiallyanhydrous conditions.

The reaction is carried out at temperatures of from about 50° to 250° C.preferably from 100° to 200° C. and for times of from 0.5 to 10 hours,preferably from 2 to 6 hours, under a pressure of from 500 to 2,000 psi.The pressure is generally achieved by the presence of sufficient CO andH₂. Additional pressure is attained by the presence of inert gases.

The polymer must have a high degree, generally of greater than about 40percent and preferably greater than about 60 percent, incorporation ofalkylene (preferably C₁ -C₃) amino pendant groups based on the originalolefinic content of the polymer. High degrees can be achieved bycombined use of a Group VIII metal compound, hydrogen and high pressure.Further, substantially all of the residual olefinic groups of thepolymer are hydrogenated under the above conditions. The polymericpolyamine may contain small amounts of residual olefinic groups such asless than about 20 percent and preferably less than about 10 percent ofthat originally contained in the polymer. It is most preferred that thepolymer be substantially completely saturated.

The polymeric polyamine which can be formed as described above hascertain unique structural features which are believed, though not meantto be a limitation on the present invention, to provide a highlyeffective end product suitable as a retention aid. The amino group,being pendant from the polymer backbone chain and extended from thechain by a methylene or other short chain alkylene bridge, is stericallypositioned to be more readily accessible to further modification ofquaternization and as a site for reaction, as described below, to extendthe polymer chain and thereby attain the desired high molecular weightmaterial. Further, the substantial absence of unsaturation in thepolymer provides a more flexible chain which thus more readily permitsreaction. Both the extended pendancy of the amino group and the polymerbackbone structure have unexpectedly found to ultimately provide amaterial which can more readily associate itself with the particles ofthe paper furnish to cause improved retention and improved drainage.

The polymeric polyamine is then modified to form a polymer producthaving a high charge density and molecular structure capable ofproviding a high degree of retention of particulate matter in a paperweb. The polymeric polyamine is modified by cross-linking and/or chainextending and by quaternizing amino groups.

The desired final product should be of high molecular weight yet must bewater soluble material. Thus cross-linking and/or chain extension shouldbe done to a greater degree when using low molecular weight startingpolymer and may not be needed at all when using very high molecularweight starting polymer.

When cross-linking is required, it can be accomplished by reacting theaminomethylated product with an agent which is at least difunctionalwith respect to the pendant amino groups. When the pendant amino groupsare predominantly secondary amines (using a primary amine in theaminomethylation) one can use compounds which contain at least twogroups which are reactive with respect to secondary amines. These groupsare well known to those skilled in the art and include carboxylic acids,epoxides, halides, aldehydes and the like. For example, compounds havingat least two carboxylic acids including oxalic, malonic, succinic,glutaric, adipic, azelaic, dodecanedioic acids and the like; halidesinclude alpha, omega-dihaloalkanes, prefereably halo being chloro- suchas 1,2 chloroethane, 1,5-dichloro-n-pentane, and the like; polyaldehydesincluding trioxane, glyoxal, malonaldehyde, glutaraldehyde,phthalaldehyde and the like; epoxides including epoxy cappedpolyethyleneoxide, 1,3-diepoxybutane and the like; as well as compoundshaving at least one of each of at least two of the above reactive groupsas, for example, epihalohydrins such as epichlorohydrin, glycolic acid,hydracrylic acid, formylacetic acid and the like.

When the aminomethylated polymer is formed using secondary amines, thepolymeric polyamine will contain a predominant amount of tertiary aminegroups. Such products should be reacted with a polyfunctional agentcapable of reacting with a tertiary amino group. Such agents are di andpolyepoxides di and polyhaloalkanes and compounds, such asepihalohydrins, which have a mixture of epoxy and halo groups therein.Such compounds are illustrated by examples hereinabove.

The polymeric polyamine can be chain extended in lieu of or in additionto the cross-linking described above when the olefinic containingpolymer has terminal groups of hydroxy or a blocked carbonyl. Thesegroups are inert to aminomethylation but are reactive sites for chainextension by contacting the polymeric polyamine with compound which isdifunctionally reactive with respect to the terminal groups. Forexample, when the terminal groups are hydroxy groups the chain extenderscan be dicarboxylates, diisocyanates and the like. When the terminalgroups are carboxyl, the chain extenders can be diisocyanates,dihydroxyl, diamines and the like.

The polyfunctional agent can be reacted with the polymeric polyamine ina liquid which is a solvent for both materials. The liquid can be thesame as that used in the aminomethylation reaction. The chain extensionmay be carried out at temperatures of from about 30° to 120° C. andpreferably from 40° to 80° C. for a period of time sufficient to causesubstantially complete reaction of the agent and polymer such as from0.5 to 6 hours preferably from 0.5 to 3 hours. The amount of timerequired for completion can be readily determined by standard analyticaltechniques, such as by following viscosity increase until it levels offor by spectrographic analysis for disappearance of presence of reactivegroup of the polyfunctional agent, as well as by other standardtechniques. The particular mode of monitoring the progress of thereaction will depend upon the particular agents used as is welldetermined by the artisan.

The molar ratio of polyfunctional agent to polymer is extremely criticalas the present product must have at least a majority of the resultantpolymer product have a weight average molecular weight of greater than100,000 and preferably greater than 1,000,000. It is also critical thatthe molecular weight and/or cross-linking network of the polymer besufficiently low to provide a water soluble product. The exact molecularweight will depend on the degree of amino groups present, the molecularweight of the starting aminomethylated polymer and the degree ofcross-linking which is necessary to form the highest molecular weight,yet water soluble product.

The polymeric polyamine must be modified to transform at least a part ofthe amino groups to ammonium groups. This can be done by cross-linkingthrough the tertiary amino groups as described above or by transformingsome of the amines to ammonium groups as described below or both. Suchproducts are especially useful when applied to alkaline conditions. Theammonium groups will form in situ when used under acidic conditions.

The polymer product may be modified to form quaternary ammonium groupsfrom a substantial portion of the pendant amino groups of the polymerproduct. This can be readily accomplished by reacting the polymerproduct with alkyl halides. The alkyl hailde is preferably a C₁ -C₃alkyl chloride although other halogens can be used. Although thereaction can be carried out in an organic medium it is prefereable toperform the reaction in the presence of water. The halide forms acounterion to the formed ammonium group.

For illustrative purposes, the polymer product of the present inventionwhen formed from polybutadiene as the olefinic containing polymer can berepresented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein represents asubstantially saturated hydrocarbon polymer chain, each R separatelyrepresents hydrogen or an unsubstituted or substituted C₁ -C₆ alkyl,cycloalkyl or aryl; R' represents hydrogen or an R group; R" representshydrogen or a C₁ -C₃ alkyl; R'" represents hydrogen (for hydrogenatedolefinic groups) or a comonomer pendant group (such as phenyl, nitrile,amide, ester, alkyl ether and the like) or both. X is residual organicgroup of a compound capable of covalently bonding with at least twonitrogen atoms and Z is a counterion such as a halide; n is an integerof from 1 to 3; a, b, c and d are each integers such that a and c isfrom about 1 to 90 percent, b is from about 1 to 30 percent and d isfrom about 1 to 60 percent of the total sum of a+b+c+d and the sum ofthe groups of a, b and c is present in at least 4 weight percent of thepolymer product.

The resultant polymer has the features of being of high molecularweight, being water soluble, having a substantially saturatedhydrocarbon polymer backbone structure, and having a high degree ofpendant alkylene quaternary ammonium groups. These features impart tothe product an extremely high charge density to provide strongpolymer-particle surface interaction and a mass configuration whichprovides excellent retention characteristics.

The subject polymeric material can be incorporated into aqueoussolutions or suspensions to be readily utilized as an additive in thepaper making process. The polymer is normally present in from about 0.01to 1 percent by weight of the composition although lower or higherconcentrations may be appropriate depending on solubility of the polymerand/or application of composition.

Compositions containing the subject polymeric material have been foundvery effective retention and drainage aids. They may be utilized inconventional manners such as an additive to the head box of aconventional paper making machine.

The following examples are given for illustrative purposes only and arenot meant to be a limitation on the subject invention as defined in theappended claims. All parts and percentages are by weight unlessotherwise indicated.

EXAMPLE 1

A high vinyl polybutadiene (44.0 g., 0.815 mol C--C, molecular weight1000 g/mol), monomethylamine (39.12 g, 1.30 mol), Rh₆ (CO)₁₆, (297 mg,1.6×10⁻³ mol) and tetrahydrofuran (400 g) were charged into a 2 literMagnadrive autoclave and pressurized to 1000 psi with CO/H₂ (1:1 ratio).The temperature was raised to 160° C. and maintained there for 2 hours.

The product was analyzed by acid titration to determine the amineincorporation to be 68.8%. NMR analysis showed the product to besubstantially saturated. 65.0 g of the formed polyamine (73.5 mmolamine) was evaporated down to 35 g to remove unreacted methylamine.Tetrahydrofuran was added up to 51.6 g. The solution was charged into a3-neck flask and water (41.3 g) was slowly added. To the formedemulsion, epichlorohydrin (4.21 g) was added. The mixture was heated for2 hours at 30° C. Temperature was then raised to 55° C. and thetetrahydrofuran was distilled off. After two hours 96.5 g of product wasobtained.

The product was tested (using a Britt's Dynamic Drainage test system) onbleached sulphite pulp (Canadian Std. Freeness 350 ml) with 5 percentclay at pH of 7.0. The solid content (consistency) was 0.35 percent andthe fines content was 19 percent (including the clay). The polymerproduct was added to the aqueous slurry at the rate of 0.3 percent basedon the weight of solids. The slurry was mixed and then a 100 ml samplewas removed through a 200 U.S. Std. mesh screen. The samples wereanalyzed for amount solid carried through. The analysis showed 13.3 mgsolid per 100 ml and 15.2 mg solid per 100 ml for two samples. Forcomparison, the experiment was repeated except that the retention aidwas not used. The analysis of the material was 35.6 mg solid per 100 ml.This clearly shows that the subject product provided good retention anddid not allow a high amount of particulate material to be removedthrough the screen.

EXAMPLE 2

25.1 g of polybutadiene (MW=1000, 80% vinyl content) in 500 ml oftetrahydrofuran, 25 g of dimethylamine, 118 mg of Rh₆ (CO)₁₆ were sealedin a 2 1 Parr reactor and pressurized with mixture of carbon monoxideand hydrogen (1:1) up to 1000 psig. The reaction took place at 150° for6 hours. The amine incorporation of this reaction was 69.8%, and thesolid content of the solution was 7.9%.

281 g of polyamine in tetrahydrofuran with a solid content of 20%, 140.5g water, 139.7 g of 10% solution of CH₃ Cl (methyl chloride) intetrahydrofuran were sealed in a 2 1 Parr reactor, and reacted at 100°C. for 1 hour. Next, the aqueous and organic phases were separated. Theaqueous layer was titrated and the degree of quaternization was found tobe 82%. The solid content of the aqueous layer was 23.9%.

The quaternized product is then cross-linked with epihalohydrin in themanner and molar ratio as described in Example 1 above. The formedproduct is tested as described in Example 1 and shows that the producthas excellent retention properties.

What is claimed is:
 1. A polymeric product comprising a water solublepolymer having a substantially completely saturated polymeric backbonechain with a pendant alkylene amine groups represented by the formula:##STR3## wherein represents a substantially saturated hydrocarbonpolymer chain, each R separately represents an unsubstituted orsubstituted C₁ -C₆ alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl; R' represents hydrogen oran R group; R" represents hydrogen or a C₁ -C₃ alkyl; R'" representshydrogen or a comonomer pendant group or both, X is a residual organicgroup of a compound capable of covalently bonding with at least twonitrogen atoms of the polymer and Z is a counterion; n is an integer offrom 1 to 3; a, b, c, d and e are each integers such that a, c and e isfrom about 1 to 90 percent, b is from about 1 to 30 percent and d isfrom about 1 to 60 percent of the total sum of a+b+c+d+e; and the sum ofthe groups of a+c+e is at least 4 weight percent of the polymer product;said polymer is formed by reacting under substantially anhydrousconditions an olefinic bond containing polymer with an amine selectedfrom a primary or secondary amine, hydrogen and carbon monoxide in thepresence of a Group VIII metal containing compound to form a polymericmaterial having pendant alkylene amine groups and further reacting aportion of the alkylene amine groups with an agent which is at leastdifunctional with respect to the pendant secondary and tertiary aminogroups, said difunctional agent being in molar ratio of from 0.3 to 1.1with respect to said secondary amino groups and from 0.5 to 2.2 withrespect to said tertiary amino groups.
 2. The product of claim 1 whereinthe polymeric material has pendant alkylene amine groups in at least 40percent based on the olefin bond content of the olefinic bond containingpolymer.
 3. The product of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of saidalkylene amine pendant groups are reacted with an alkyl halide to formquaternary ammonium groups therefrom.
 4. The polymer of claim 1 whereinthe olefinic containing polymer is a homopolymer or copolymer ofpolybutadiene or isoprene.
 5. The polymer of claim 2 wherein theolefinic containing polymer is a homopolymer or copolymer ofpolybutadiene or isoprene.
 6. The polymer of claim 3 wherein theolefinic containing polymer is a homopolymer or copolymer ofpolybutadiene or isoprene.
 7. The polymer of claim 1 wherein the polymerproduct is water-soluble and has a weight average molecular weight offrom about 100,000.
 8. The product of claim 2 wherein the amine is aprimary amine selected from unsubstituted or substituted C₁ -C₆ alkyl,cycloalkyl or aryl amine.
 9. The product of claim 3 wherein the amine isa primary amine selected from unsubstituted or substituted C₁ -C₆ alkyl,cycloalkyl or aryl amine.
 10. The product of claim 2 wherein the amineis a secondary amine represented by the formula: ##STR4## wherein R andR' are each individually selected from a substituted or unsubstituted C₁-C₆ alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl amine.
 11. The product of claim 3 whereinthe amine is a secondary amine represented by the formula: ##STR5##wherein R and R' are each individually selected from a substituted orunsubstituted C₁ -C₆ alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl amine.
 12. A compositionsuitable for use as a retention and drainage aid in paper makingcomprising an aqueous medium having the product of claim 1 therein. 13.A composition suitable for use as a retention and drainage aid in papermaking comprising an aqueous medium having the product of claim 2therein.
 14. A composition suitable for use as a retention and drainageaid in paper making comprising an aqueous medium having the product ofclaim 3 therein.
 15. A composition suitable for use as a retention anddrainage aid in paper making comprising an aqueous medium having theproduct of claim 4 therein.
 16. A composition suitable for use as aretention and drainage aid in paper making comprising an aqueous mediumhaving the product of claim 5 therein.
 17. A composition suitable foruse as a retention and drainage aid in paper making comprising anaqueous medium having the product of claim 6 therein.
 18. A compositionsuitable for use as a retention and drainage aid in paper makingcomprising an aqueous medium having the product of claim 7 therein. 19.A composition suitable for use as a retention and drainage aid in papermaking comprising an aqueous medium having the product of claim 8therein.
 20. A composition suitable for use as a retention and drainageaid in paper making comprising an aqueous medium having the product ofclaim 9 therein.
 21. A composition suitable for use as a retention anddrainage aid in paper making comprising an aqueous medium having theproduct of claim 10 therein.
 22. A composition suitable for use as aretention and drainage aid in paper making comprising an aqueous mediumhaving the product of claim 11 therein.